289. Appropriate Clothes for Davening

Tefillah u’Birkas Kohanim 5:5

Appropriate clothes (in 5:1) means that one should adjust his clothing and make himself presentable before he davens, as per Psalms 29:2, “Worship God in the beauty of holiness.” One should not daven wearing just an undershirt, with his head uncovered, or barefoot if the local practice is only to stand before important people while wearing shoes. One should not daven while holding tefillin or a Torah scroll because he will worry about dropping them rather than concentrating on his prayers. Similarly, one should not daven while holding money or utensils. On Succos, one may daven while holding his lulav because that is the mitzvah of the day. If a person is carrying a load of less than four kav (about six liters) on his head when the time to daven arrives, he should throw it on his shoulder and daven. If it is larger than four kav, he should place it on the ground and daven. The practice for scholars and their students is to daven wrapped in a tallis.

Tefillah u’Birkas Kohanim 5:6

Appropriate location (in 5:1) means that one should daven in a low place, facing the wall. One should open windows or doors that face Jerusalem and pray across from them as we see from Daniel 6:11, “he had open windows in his room facing Jerusalem.” A person should designate a place for davening. One should not daven in a ruin, nor behind a shul unless he faces the shul. It is prohibited to sit next to someone who is davening Shemoneh Esrei. One may likewise not pass in front of such a person unless it is at a distance of at least four cubits.